• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

A concern about a little guy not shedding

antsterr

Always mostly awesome
I'm a little concerned here, I know first time owners tend to worry over every little thing so please tell me if there is nothing to worry about.
I got an 05 hatchling about two weeks ago, he was about five weeks old at the time and on the day I picked him up his eyes were in the blue stage. The next day his eyes went back to normal, but fifteen days later he has still not shed. in the last three days I've really started to see his skin change, It's very dull looking and his one black and white belly was getting little blotches of rust colour on in. Just today his belly has turned kind of milky like his eyes were before. I've tried the moist paper towel but he has not shed yet.
First of all, is fifteen days worth panicking about? does the state of his skin indicate he should be shedding soon?
When i got him, the day after he went missing and was gone for three days. I guess he could have shed while he was out, but then is it possible he's already be shedding again with out his eyes going blue?

any ideas, concerns or reassurances would be appreciated.
 
Hmmm... It does sound like he has shed once and is starting the cycle again. It is quite normal for the skin to dull during the blue phase, so don't worry about that.

Could he have injured himself at all during his escape? This is a common reason for shedding more often than the norm. 3-4 weeks I believe is about normal for a baby, but maybe for some 2 weeks is common; depends on the size of the snake I'd guess.

Just check that all the conditions in the viv/enclosure are as they should be, and let him do his thing..again :)
 
I originally wasn't convinced that he shed during his escape but it looks now like that must have been the case. Today his eyes are turning blue again. As for getting hurt, I'm not sure. He has had a lump on his back just behind his 10th spot about 1/3 the way down his back. I took him to the lady I purchased him from and she said he probably had got a small injury and I should just watch him to make sure it looks like it's healing. He was slithering very strangely for a day or so but is moving normal now and the lump is almost gone so I'm guessing that must have been what caused it.
 
So he did get injured by the sounds of it then, that explains the more frequent shedding. If the lump's gone down and there are no other signs of illness then try not to worry. I'm sure he'll be just fine and his shed cycle will settle very soon.
 
Back
Top